Commentary: New York must overhaul foster care reimbursement

In an ideal world, foster care would not exist. All children would be born to parents ready to support and nurture them through the highs and lows of childhood. And yet, we know this is not true. Foster care is as essential as firefighters and police — all are public systems that underpin a civil society.

Children who have suffered from abuse or neglect and can't safely live with their parents need to be cared for temporarily. Foster parents nurture these traumatized children while also supporting the children's parents as they take the steps necessary to parent appropriately. They also often step up to adopt these children should a judge determine the parents cannot resume their care.

Where do we find thousands of people willing to do this? All over New York. People of all backgrounds. Some are relatives. Many others simply volunteer. They submit to background checks, interviews, proof of financial stability, medical exams and hours of training to become licensed by New York as foster parents for our 19,000 most vulnerable children.

Recognizing the crucial role foster parents play, Congress enacted the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980. This requires that foster parents be reimbursed for the cost of providing food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies and other essential expenses.

New York, however, has failed to follow this law for decades. Our state has no formula to calculate the actual expenses foster parents shoulder. New York mandates no minimum rate. This makes children and foster parents easy targets in times of political wrangling or budget cost-cutting.

It also compromises New York's efforts to recruit and retain foster families. Many with the skills to be great foster parents cannot afford to supplement the stipend to meet the substantial cost of raising a child with challenges. Others, initially told they will be reimbursed adequately, stop when they realize this is just not true — an unfortunate and impossible dilemma in which to place well-meaning volunteers.

Since 2010, the Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York, with pro bono representation from Morrison & Foerster, has urged the state to provide reimbursement to foster parents in compliance with the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act. Our position is straightforward: Comply with federal law. Provide enough so that children in foster care, who have lost so much already, aren't forced to make do with less than they need.

A change in federal law makes resolution even more critical. New York must implement the federal Family First Prevention Services Act by 2021. This will dramatically decrease federal reimbursement for institutional foster care. In New York, where the percentage of children in institutional care already exceeds the national average, such care has a median annual cost of $137,000 per child — many, many times the cost of what a foster parent would receive. More children must be placed in family-based care.

With the state's loss in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the coming implementation of this federal law, we hope energy can be redirected toward solving the problem of inadequate support for children in foster care.

It is time for the governor to step up and provide reimbursement to foster parents that meets the basic expenses of raising a child. Reinvest some of the savings our state will realize as we move children and youth from institutions to family-based foster care. Set a minimum for foster care rates. Implement a formula to guide future adjustments to rates. Tell foster parents, "We've got your back." Tell children and youth in foster care, "You matter."

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Richard Heyl de Ortiz is executive director and Sarah Gerstenzang is board president of the Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York.